Canadian Construction Association Celebrates 2012 National Award Recipients

The Canadian Construction Association (CCA) presented 11 recipients with national awards at a luncheon and ceremony at the CCA’s 95th annual conference in La Malbaie, Que. on March 6, 2013

The CCA awards recognize outstanding individuals, firms and associations that represent the Canadian construction industry. “Listening to the awards ceremony, I really felt the breadth and width of talent in our industry,” said John Schubert, chair of CCA. “The CCA award recipients truly raise the bar for everybody involved in the industry. There are so many great minds that do so much not only for our industry but for communities across Canada.”

General Contractors Award of Recognition – Louis Fontaine, Project Manager, BPR Construction

Fontaine has extensive experience in project and construction management. He is known for seeking equilibrium in quality, costs and time, working with “open books” and gaining the respect of all stakeholders. He has also been active in numerous associations, especially the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ) – region de Québec, where he served as president. His involvement prompted the ACQ – Quebec City region to take part in the project “Towards the Perfect Jobsite”.

Trade Contractors Award of Recognition – Francis Roy, President, Gyptech Acoustique

Roy joined the council in 2011, providing updates and information on the interests of trade contractors in Quebec. Roy has also participated in the development of bidding guides for architectural specialties. He is a past chair of the ACQ – region de Quebec, currently serves in the executive committee of the ACQ-Provinciale, and is a president of the ACQ – Provinciale’s oversight committee for activities of the Quebec Bid Depository (BSDQ) and a member of the standing committee on BSDQ code review.

Civil Infrastructure Award of Recognition – Al Reed (retired)

Reed began working for Saskatchewan Highways as both a bridge and highways engineer, then worked for Poole Construction (now PCL) and started Carmacks Enterprises with three partners. He is a past chair of the Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association, Western Canada Roadbuilders & Heavy Construction Association and the CCA.

Reed is considered a pioneer in the roadbuilding industry for his work with other collaborative associations and his work in helping create the Road and Infrastructure Program (TRIP). More recently, Reed has dedicated his time to promoting the industry’s contributions to the development of provincial infrastructure in Alberta. He is a founding member of the Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Heritage Society of Canada (RHHS). RHHS’ mission is to celebrate the legacy of roadbuilding and heavy construction with a goal to build a world-class facility that improves perceptions, appreciation, and recognition of roadbuilding and heavy construction.

Gold Seal Association Award of Excellence – Hamilton-Halton Construction Association

Gold Seal Certification program is the leading certification program for construction management professionals, such as estimators, owner’s project managers, project managers, safety coordinators, and superintendents, in Canada. The Hamilton-Halton Construction Association (HHCA) has seen Gold Seal applications triple in the past few years due to its numerous promotional efforts and the support its members receive when preparing to take the Gold Seal Certification exam.

The HHCA with its partners PCL, Comstock and the local electrical and mechanical construction associations gained nine new Gold Seal Certification applicants in the early phases of its first Gold Seal Project through the development of promotional materials such as Gold Seal flags, information packages and billboards, the installation of an information kiosk at the PCL site office and offering information sessions.

Community Leader Award – Paul McCarney, President and General Manager, Graydex

Honourable mention PCL family of companies

McCarney’s charitable work involves a number of causes, including the St. Pat’s Home of Ottawa Foundation, and the Royal Ottawa Hospital’s “Do it for Daron” campaign, and the Ottawa Hospital Foundation.

McCarney executed a quarter-million, 12-week renovation project involving dozens of volunteers for Christie Lake Kids’ camp. What started as a simple makeover of cabins became to include new shower facilities, a roof for the main dining hall, a makeover of the healthcare facility, safety improvements to the recreation facilities and securing a donation of mountain bikes and helmets, plus further donations for the construction of a new laundry facility. Carole Gagné Ince, Executive Director of the camp said: “I have never met one person so committed and passionate about the contributions they are making back into the communities where they work, live, and play.”

Partner Association Award – Grand Valley Construction Association

At the root of GVCA’s offerings is education – from Gold Seal Certification to Business Excellence Forums, its Safety Group and targeted seminars. Through analysing gaps in services and information, the association worked with its local college to create a Professional Ethics in Construction course which is adjunct to the Gold Seal ethics workshop. It is a required workshop and aims to improve ethical decision-making in the field of construction.

In 2012, the GVCA added the Journal, a quarterly trade publication, which provided members and associated stakeholders with increased opportunities to share knowledge. In addition to its already successful Women in Construction (WinC) group, 2012 saw the formation of the Young Leaders in Construction group, which is open to members who are age 40 and under.

National Safety Award – Aecon Construction Group

 Aecon’s environmental health & safety program is based on established behavioural safety techniques. Developed in-house, the program meets OHSAS 18001 standards and complies with all jurisdictions, in many cases exceeding local requirements. Third-party audits covering oil and gas operations, civil infrastructure, ICI building construction, heavy civil and mining projects are performed annually by industry and provincial bodies, and clients. Aecon has 200 dedicated safety personnel at job sites throughout Canada ensuring strict implementation of its program. Some of the other recognitions that Aecon has received for its efforts include the Douglas Chalmers Award for Safety from the Ontario General Contractors Association as well as the first Certificate of Recognition (COR) designation in Ontario, adding to Aecon’s COR certification in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.

International Business Award – DIRTT Environmental Solutions (Calgary, Alberta)

Eight years ago, DIRTT was a startup offering custom prefab interiors to the construction, facility and design sectors. In 2006, the Coalition for Government Procurement presented the firm with a partnership award for its environmentally-sustainable solutions. DIRTT’s business relationships soon grew to multi-national organizations around the world.

The company owes some of its success to its trademarked software platform which graphically informs clients with a vivid, interactive, real-time flythrough. Each location has its own needs for changing the way they construct their building interiors. As an example, Saudi Arabia needs the speed and quality of prefab to build out their hospitals for their growing population. In 2013 DIRTT and two distribution partners will be opening new Green Learning Centres; one in Beirut, Lebanon and one in Mumbai, India. DIRTT’s prefab process allows local vendors to supply elements such as glass and butt-hinge doors where appropriate, helping local businesses and keeping the carbon footprint of the project small.

CCA Environmental Achievement Award – JJM Construction (Delta, British Columbia)

The Delta Shake & Shingle site was a privately-owned landfill consisting of approximately two million cubic metres of demolition, land clearing and construction waste. Working closely with the site owner and project engineer, JJM established a cost-effective solution for transforming a once-contaminated brownfield site into useable commercial property, minimizing the risk of landfill fire and reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.

After nearly 14-months of work on this project, the prepared site included the installation of an impermeable liner and leachate collection system, keeping approximately 18,000,000 litres of leachate from seeping into groundwater, or flowing into a protected ecological conservancy area or tributaries of the Fraser River. A geomembrane cap was installed to prevent future leachate production by shedding 100% of new precipitation, in accordance with the principle of “keep clean water clean”.

An innovative sub-cover horizontal collection system was developed and installed to capture landfill gas, which is currently being collected and flared on a trial basis. Nearly 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases are anticipated to be diverted from the airshed through this system.

CCA Excellence in Innovation Award – PCL Industrial Management (Edmonton, Alberta)

Modularization of heavy industrial plant construction in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries is a standard mode of operation utilized to reduce costs, site congestion, and schedule. The industry has for many years used a traditional rigging approach to lifting these modules onto their foundations or supporting structures. Though the combination of spreader bars, slings, and rigging hardware is well accepted and proven, the approach retains risks relating to safety exposure hours and can induce stresses within the lifted module due to its configuration.

PCL has recently engineered, designed, and fabricated in-house an innovative method of rigging modules to reduce site costs and improve safety. The time required to modify the rigging configuration to accommodate changes in bay dimensions, number of pick points, and center of gravity has been reduced to 10 per cent of traditional rigging assemblies. This substantially reduces the HSE exposure hours and increases productivity of the heavy lift program. It can easily handle a 160-metric-ton module for six to 16 pick points, 16- to 24-foot-wide modules, and lengths up to 140 feet. The lift frame has a provisional patent in place.

CCA Person of the Year – André Morin, Vice-President, Acier AGF

Over the course of Morin’s career, the vision he had of his industry has become, in large part, the industry itself. In 1989, by promoting closer ties between the Fédération de la construction du Québec and the Association de la construction de Montréal et du Québec, he facilitated the creation of the ACQ. Morin is one of the three founding members for the centre for studies and research to promote construction in Quebec. He has served on the boards of the Commission de la construction du Québec and the CCA, where he also served as a member of the executive committee. The entire construction industry’s appreciation of his skills and experience is evidenced by the number of awards he has received from organizations such as the Reinforcing Steel Institute of Canada, ACQ, ASP Métal Électrique – as the first recipient of an award that bears his name, l’Institut d’Acier d’Armature du Québec and the CCA.